1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to the field of wiring devices and principally to an electrical receptacle adapted to receive conventional two and three prong electrical plugs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The more common form of electrical receptacle well known in the art comprises generally a pair of plug receiving outlets more commonly described as a duplex receptacle comprising a plastic body member containing electrical contacts and adapted to mate with either a two or three prong electrical plugs of either the 120 or 220 volt variety comprising, respectively, parallel or offset blade elements. The receptacles are generally provided with screw terminals on either side thereof adapted to receive the bared ends of the individual conductors of a multiconductor non-sheathed electrical cable. Such prior art receptacles are further generally provided with mounting ears to which are loosely fastened assembly screws for mounting the receptacle to a metallic box previously installed within an opening in a wall or like support member. A separate face plate is thereafter required to be fastened to the front of the receptacle for asthetic and safety purposes. Although there have been some improvements made in recent years with respect to the manner of attaching the cable conductors to the receptacle, the time, expense, and inconvenience associated with assembling the metallic box, electrical receptacle, and face plate to one another to provide a complete unit has undergone little appreciable change and represents a burdensome, time-consuming, and relatively expensive operation wherein the user is required to sever the cable, strip back the installation from a portion thereof and individually connect the conductors to an associated terminal within the electrical receptacle after feeding the cable through an aperture in the receptacle supporting junction box. The user is faced with an additional problem of having to maintain a stock of face plates which are generally supplied separately from the receptacle and which may be readily lost or misplaced among the proliferation of materials generally found at a construction site which often represents the usually environment for the installation of such receptacles. A further disadvantage of the separate assembly heretofore described is the requirement that the receptacle supporting junction box be properly oriented both vertically and horizontally within the wall or supporting member to avoid having the face plate secured thereto at an oblique angle since only minor adjustment is possible between the axis of the junction box and the axis of the face plate after installation. The assembler is presented with a further difficulty in having to provide within the junction box a given length of stripped cable to permit manipulation of the receptacle for subsequent rewiring or replacement and which must be looped and stored within the junction box after the assembly is completed which, in the event two or more cables are brought into the junction box, results in a multiplicity of connector leads therewithin all looped about in random fashion and interfering with the reassembly of the electrical receptacle to the junction box during a subsequent wiring operation.